Carwarden House Community School
Prospectus 2014/2015
Contents Welcome to Carwarden House Community School
1
Information about the school
2
Admissions 3 Curriculum 4 Pastoral care, guidance and support
5
Sixth-Form 6 Preparation for working life
7
Staff and governors
8
Ambitious • Articulate • Caring • Confident Determined • Independent • Resilient Respectful • Responsible • Successful
Welcome to Carwarden House Community School
T
hank you for taking an interest in Carwarden House Community School. I hope the information contained within this prospectus gives you a flavour of how we work and what we do. I encourage you to visit to see us in action. We are a special school for 124 students between the ages of 11 and 19 with a statement of special educational needs or Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) for moderate learning difficulties and/or associated conditions such as autism, speech, language and communication needs or Down syndrome. Our student population comprises approximately 60% boys and 40% girls. We have a very strong shared vision that was developed after discussions with staff, governors, students and parents. It encapsulates all that we endeavour to instil in our students by the time they leave us to take on their next challenge. Parents tell us in very strong terms that they want us to focus on developing life and employability skills and independence in their son or daughter. As a result our
leadership, staffing, support, curriculum, pastoral systems and policies are organised to ensure that the vision remains at the forefront of everything we do.
Shared Vision “When students leave Carwarden House they should be ambitious, articulate, caring, confident, determined, independent, resilient, respectful, responsible and successful.” We are highly regarded in Surrey and the surrounding area and, as a result, attract students from a number of neighbouring local authorities. Whatever your reason for reading this prospectus I encourage you to follow this up with a tour of the school. The staff and students will be delighted to meet you and tell you why we are so proud of our school. My message to students is simple: “Be nice, work hard.” I’m sure you’ll find that to be the case. I look forward to meeting you in person in the near future. Jarlath O’Brien Headteacher
“The school is characterised by an uncompromising drive to improve standards in the pupils’ achievement and their behaviour…In addition the governing body gives committed support and challenge to the school.” (Ofsted, 2014) 01
Information about the school School address -
Carwarden House Community School, 118, Upper Chobham Road, Camberley, Surrey, GU15 1EJ
Telephone number -
01276 709080
Fax number -
01276 709081
E-mail address -
info@carwarden.surrey.sch.uk
Website -
www.carwarden.surrey.sch.uk
@CarwardenHouse
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Chair of Governors -
Antony Power
Headteacher -
Jarlath O’Brien BSc (Hons) PGCE NPQH
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WE ARE HERE
Admissions
C
arwarden House caters for secondaryaged students who, for a variety of reasons, require a learning environment that is highly flexible, personalised and focused on developing independence, life and employability skills. All students at Carwarden House have a statement of special educational needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), have moderate learning difficulties and may have associated needs such as autism, Down syndrome and/or speech, language and communication needs. Admission to the school for students resident in Surrey is coordinated by Surrey County Council and decisions are made by a panel of headteachers and senior SEN officers from the local authority with the support of fellow professionals such as educational psychologists and Youth Support Service advisers (for Sixth-Form admissions). The panel sits in the November of the academic year prior to admission (normally Year 6 or Year 11). Parent Partnership representatives are present as observers. Although parents are not present at the panel their views are actively sought and form part of the decision-making process. For students resident in other counties parents must apply through their home local authority. At Carwarden House we take the admissions process very seriously and will visit all potential students prior to the panel to see students and talk to staff in the current school. All prospective parents will also be encouraged to visit prior to the panel. Once admissions have been agreed we begin our transition process. This involves further informal visits by students, parents and staff, attendance by a senior leader from Carwarden House at the Year 6 annual review and attendance by the new student at our two-day induction in the summer term. We also invite new parents to coffee mornings held once a half-term so that they can begin their own transition process in to the school. Individual admissions are made throughout the year if the school has appropriate places.
“There is a harmonious and supportive atmosphere throughout the school. Pupils go out of their way to help others, they have a very clear understanding of acceptable behaviour and, because they are relaxed and happy, they socialise very successfully.� (Ofsted, 2014)
03
Curriculum
P
arents tell us very strongly that they want their son or daughter to live and work independently. To meet the demands of our aspirational school vision and the wishes of parents we need to organise our curriculum accordingly. We offer a broad and balanced academic curriculum and we enhance this with a strong emphasis on a personalised and flexible vocational learning offer in Key Stage 4 and the Sixth-Form. All students have a form tutor who is the teacher responsible for all aspects of their pastoral care. The tutor is usually the first point of contact with home and coordinates the Personal Development Plan of each student. Our curriculum is organised in a similar fashion to that of a mainstream secondary school with subject-specific staff delivering the academic curriculum. The school week is organised into 30 lessons of 50 minutes duration, with some of those lessons being doubles. Year groups are typically 20 students strong; classes are made up of approximately 10 students and are staffed by a teacher and a teaching assistant.
Key Stage 3 Subjects offered at KS3 are: English, mathematics, ICT, PSHE, citizenship, science, art, music, RE, PE, drama, food technology, design technology, modern foreign languages and humanities.
Key Stage 4
“Teaching is almost always good and sometimes outstanding” “As a result of good teaching, the rate of pupils’ progress has continued to improve” “The school’s accurate monitoring ensures that no group or individual is allowed to fall behind” (Ofsted, 2014) 04
This stage of the curriculum leads to nationally-recognised accreditation in academic Entry Level Certificates, vocational NOCN awards and, occasionally for some subjects, GCSE. There is a core curriculum for all students with an element of choice in option groups. Students make their choice of options in Year 9 following discussion and consultation. The core academic curriculum for all Year 10 and 11 students is: English, mathematics, ICT, PSHE, citizenship, science and RE. In addition, students choose between the following pairs of academic options: art or music, PE or drama and food technology or humanities. In Key Stage 4 there is a heavy emphasis on vocational learning and a significant proportion of the curriculum is devoted to this (refer to Section 8 – Preparation for Working Life for further details). All students in Years 10 and 11 attend a further education college for one morning a week, undertake two separate two-week blocks of work experience and choose from a suite of work-related options to study at school for half a day a week.
Sixth-Form The curriculum for our students in the Sixth-Form is exclusively focused on independence, employability and life skills. To that end the core functional skills curriculum for literacy, numeracy and IT aims to generalise those specific skills for work and independent living. Please refer to page 6 for further details of the Sixth-Form.
Pastoral care, guidance and support
A
t Carwarden House we take a holistic approach to the development of all of our students. To that end we do not use individual education plans (IEPs) in their traditional form. We have designed our own Personal Development Plans (PDPs) that capture the development of the whole child. They are constructed for all students in consultation with parents and focus on the three key areas of development: 1) Academic targets: literacy, numeracy and learning. 2) Social/therapy targets: these are dependent on the needs of the student and may comprise speech and language, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and/or behavioural targets. 3) Independence: these targets are devised by parents and allow the school to understand the most important developmental targets for their son or daughter. PDPs are reviewed regularly and are the foundation for discussion at parents’ evenings and annual reviews. We understand that students need to be taught how to manage and self-regulate their own behaviour in order to learn effectively. To achieve this we take a multi-faceted approach to creating a positive environment for learning. We have a Code of Conduct that is simple, visual and, crucially, modelled by the adults in school. Backing up this code we have a system that awards points to students in each lesson for meeting expectations on uniform, punctuality and equipment, quality of work and quality of behaviour. Students who achieve or exceed our minimum standards or show great progress can expect to have their achievements celebrated.
In addition to the points system we award bonus points to students for an exceptional contribution to the school. When we observe a student displaying one or more of the attributes detailed in our school vision (i.e. they’ve been particularly ambitious, articulate, caring, confident, determined, independent, respectful, responsible, resilient or successful) we immediately acknowledge that with the award of bonus points. All slips go in to an end-of-term lottery draw where prizes are awarded. Where students require more structured help with their behaviour this system can be used to identify where and when further support is needed and strategies to improve their conduct will be devised by our Behaviour Support Mentor in consultation with parents. We also know that students respond very well to being given responsibility, which is why it appears in our vision statement. To promote this we have a student leadership team made up of a Head Girl, Head Boy, four House Captains and a number of Student Mentors.
“Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding” “Bullying has almost been eradicated.” “Pupils’ attitudes to learning is excellent in all lessons. They look forward to lessons, they are punctual and they try their best at all times.” (Ofsted, 2014) 05
Sixth-Form
O
ur Sixth-Form educates 32 young people between the ages of 16 and 19 with a statement of special educational needs that has identified communication and associated learning difficulties as the primary need. Students will have a complexity of need that cannot be successfully supported in a mainstream further education setting even with additional resources. In addition there may be a further need for support in interpersonal and social skills, organisation and study skills and/or independence training. The curriculum is organised in order to promote our students’ independence and life skills needs and prepares them for the transition into college, work and independent living. Classes have a maximum of eight students supported by a teacher and teaching assistant. We offer a highly personalised curriculum for our students at all three tiers of Entry Level comprising: • College link course; • Functional skills in English, mathematics and ICT; • Personal and social skills; • Independent communication skills; • Life and living skills; • Skills for independence and work; • Vocational options; • Work experience. In addition all students have a social communication skills session a week in a small group with a speech and language therapist.
“Pupils in the sixth form achieve well because of good teaching and robust monitoring. They thrive as a result of an outstanding curriculum which prepares them well for the next stages in their education.” “The sixth form curriculum is outstanding in terms of the wide and appropriate range of courses, all of which contribute to college activities and which prepare pupils very well for the next chapter in their education.” (Ofsted, 2014)
06
Preparation for working life
S
chool leavers are finding it increasingly difficult to secure employment in today’s competitive labour market. We believe strongly that our curriculum must be directed towards equipping our students with as many transferable skills as possible to enable them to compete for places at colleges and to secure apprenticeships and/or paid employment. To ensure this our students undertake the following courses of study in addition to their academic curriculum: • Vocational options – in Years 10 and 11 students choose one of the following options to be studied at Carwarden House for the whole of Key Stage 4:
a. Construction;
b. Hair & Beauty;
c. Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.
• College link courses – in Year 10 students receive six half-term blocks of vocational study in various work-related fields at a local further education college. These are: child care, horticulture, retail, motor vehicle services, sport, hair and beauty, painting and decorating, creative media and catering. In Year 11 students choose to specialise in one of these for the whole of the academic year. This provides our students with a two-year transition in to college and also provides a rich and broad work-related learning experience at a different place of study. • Work experience – all Year 11 students enjoy two separate two-week blocks of work experience with different employers. Additionally, some students opt for a longer period of work experience where they undertake placements for one day a week every week of the academic year. Such placements are secured in consultation with parents.
“The proportion of pupils making progress above the rates expected has steadily increased over recent years. As a result, almost every pupil in Year 11 achieves success in Entry Level qualifications and a few gain GCSE passes, at lower levels, in one or more subjects, including English and mathematics.” (Ofsted, 2014)
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Staff and Governors Senior Leadership Team Headteacher – Jarlath O’Brien Deputy Headteacher (Teaching & Learning) – Alex Ewen Assistant Headteacher (Multi-disciplinary services) – Paul Lambert Assistant Headteacher (Sixth-Form) – Deborah Proudfoot
Middle Leadership Team Leader of Literacy & Communication – Stella Parrott Leader of Numeracy – Lynne Bragg Leader of Vocational Studies – Linda King Leader of Professional Effectiveness – Ciara Young
Support Team Behaviour Support Mentor – Debbie Stevens
Teaching Team
Data Support Officer – Jane Pickup
Rolfe Bridson
Joy Devlin
Sixth-Form Admin Officer – Jane Atkins
Lin Humphries
Linda Lamb
School Business Manager – Jane Thorpe
Jo McMullen
Karen Packham
Admin Officer - Lisa Thomas
Maria Ramsay
Rebecca Self
PA to Headteacher – Lynda Price Site Manager – Tony Wood
Teaching Assistant Team
Driver – Dennis Woodings
Angela Douglas (HLTA)
Sue Halhead-Baker (HLTA)
Caroline Arrow
Goska Aylett
Anne Bragg
Eilidh Brodie
Governors
Ronni Cheesman
Georgie Cody
Chair – Antony Power
Jill Davis
Peter Gregor
Vice-Chairs – Kim Walker and Debra Bratt
Sara Head
Sam Jackson
Nashir Ahmed
Juana Garcia
Kim Keenan
Mary McCracken
Ian Jackson
Julie Martin
Sharon Pascoe
Julie Smith
Eddie Owen
Deborah Proudfoot
Tom Whitfield
Deborah Crawford
Maria Ramsay
Fr Tim Novis
Kate Martins
08
Sports Coach Mentor – James Cullimore
Clerk to the Governing Body – Fran Gowing
Notes
Carwarden House is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all involved with the school to share this commitment. All staff and governors are required to hold an enhanced DBS certificate.
Ambitious • Articulate • Caring • Confident Determined • Independent • Resilient Respectful • Responsible • Successful
Carwarden House Community School 118, Upper Chobham Road Camberley, Surrey GU15 1EJ.
Tel 01276 709080 Fax 01276 709081 E-mail info@carwarden.surrey.sch.uk
@CarwardenHouse www.carwarden.surrey.sch.uk